Stranahan worked as visual effects artist on the television series SeaQuest DSV (1993, with John F. Gross), Hercules: The egendary Journeys, VR.5, Space: Above and Beyond (1995), Nash Bridges, Viper, Sliders (1996-1997), Conan (1997-1998), and Birds of Prey (2002, with Mark Kochinski).

He worked as visual effects compositing supervisor for the company Flash Film Works on the fantasy film Tale of the Mummy (1998), the horror film Deep Blue Sea (1999), the science fiction thriller Red Planet (2000), the fantasy comedy Delivering Milo (2001, starring Anton Yelchin), the thriller Collateral Damage (2002), the crime comedy Death to Smoochy (2002), the science fiction comedy The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), the comedy Duplex (2003), and the drama The Last Samurai (2003). Beside a short employment as compositor for the company Digital Dimension on the crime drama Cellular (2004), the sequel Blade: Trinity (2004), the comedy Son of the Mask (2005), and the action sequel Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Stranahan continued to work with Flash Film Works. Further credits include the thriller Dark Water (2005), the action drama The Guardian (2006), the thriller Blood Diamond (2006), the science fiction remake The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), the drama Defiance (2008), and the comedy All About Steve (2009).

More recent credits include the fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans (2010), the television series The Pacific (2010), and the family drama Dolphin Tale (2011).